The Rise and Rise of the Daddy Blogger

We all know how mothers took to blogging like Renee to Renato. It made sense, you're home all day, you don't get to talk to adults or go out much, you don't have enough of a creative outlet - communication is the prize.

Mommy Bloggers got super popular in the States but now Daddy Bloggers are stealing the limelight. metrodad and BlackHockeyJesus rock not only my world but a legion of other readers too. And they have blogger friends who are great too, so check their links.

Closer to home, I was moved and a bit discomfited by this post from Sniffle&Cry. Here is a concerned post about responses to addiction by chrisppancake. Nick writes about his responses to his son Jake, and documents his happy experience of having a son with Down's Syndrome. His blog is both outlet and resource and today's post is political. How does our casually negative use of language disparage and set back the cause of people with special needs? I'm a little shocked at people's willingness to brand him a 'pc nazi' because he wants to defend the group his son belongs to, and for him to grow up in a world where is valued and respected rather than ridiculed in everyday slang. Let's just say, if you have a son called Jonah, as a friend of mine does, you don't encourage use of the name to describe unlucky people.

Of course you don't have tobe a dad yet, to be a daddy-blogger. Xbox4Nappyrash is moving everyone with his frank descriptions of trying to conceive (see, that's what's going wrong, you're not supposed to be doing it with Frank). Holemaster is a long time commenter, first time blogger, and I love this post already. It hasn't been updated in a while, but I adore Conformist No.1's writing at the conforming monkey.
And of course, there's Darren, who will wow you with his social life, but also writes posts like this. And I'm sorry dearloverblog ended the way it did because I so wanted there to be a happy ending. Blogging makes you consider how you confront the world and lets others see the process.

Of course, it's not like men haven't had a monopoly on great writing (at least according to John Waters) for some time. I know it's nothing new. But I like the great big little intimacies of the blog, of reading men's responses to the daily grind, of the male experience. I think women often have a impulse to identify, and it frustrates us and leaves us grasping in the dark when men won't throw us a bone. Perhaps that's what I like about the men's personal blogs, bones thrown all over the place.

Some men seem to feel that feminism is obsolete, and any mention of it, or women's issues, is over the top harping, worthy of mockery and a hostile response. But I think men's issues are equally part of the package. Men have been as hampered and suppressed by traditional roles as women have in some regards.

A friend lived with his wife's parents after their daughter was born, and his one interaction with his daughter on the weekday was to get to bathe her - his mother in law (to be!) would be knocking on the door after 15 minutes, checking if she was alright, ready to snatch her from his arms.

I was recently at a kids' party where a little boy was freaked out and crying by the whole thing, and his dad was totally embarrassed and refused to comfort him, just kept putting him down, with all the usual boys don't cry type cliches. Or I was at the beach the other day and a little boy fell over in the waves and got that awful cold, wet shock you get and was miserable and crying, but his father wouldn't pick him up, or comfort him, he pretty much ignored the whole thing. I don't know if he was embarrassed or just didn't want to get his clothes wet.

I think it is especially relevant now to fathers and men generally, to be inventing new roles and responses, and blogs seem to be a good place to test them out. Hey! I wonder if Robert Smith has a blog!



Phew. I'm exhausted from all the linktastic linkage. If I've missed anyone out who feels like they should be in here, send your link in!